According to a source familiar with the case, the
charges come after marijuana was found in clothing provided to an inmate
scheduled to appear before a judge. Prior to her arrest, Liscio was
representing Brampton man Jahrell Lungs, who is facing several weapons
offenses.

“Miss Liscio is an extremely hard working,
ethical, brilliant young lawyer,” said her lawyer Stephen Bernstein. “The
key issue is she’s charged with something she would or could not do.”

Bernstein said Liscio is “devastated” by what has
happened, but confident that she will be exonerated. He said the way she was
removed from the court in robes was ridiculous and should not be
“countenanced.”

“We are going to show how wrong this was.”

Many in the legal community agreed, calling her
arrest an unfair and humiliating “perp walk” through the court. Adam Newman,
a fellow Toronto lawyer who once practised alongside Liscio, said he was in
“utter shock and disbelief.”

“I can’t imagine her doing something like this
intentionally,” he said.

During trials, it is common for lawyers to provide
clothing for their client, as security personnel typically do not accept
clothing provided to an inmate directly from family members.

Criminal lawyer David Bayliss said often the only
way for a client to get a new set of clothes for court is to have lawyers be
the conduit between families and their clients.

“Am I going to be accepting clothing for clients
who want to look respectable in front of a judge now? I don’t know. We don’t
know what’s in clothing when it’s given to us,” he said.

“A situation like this could happen to almost
anyone,” said Dirk Derstine, a lawyer who was at Brampton court Thursday,
but did not see the arrest.

“Speaking to other lawyers, there’s a real feeling
of ‘there but by the grace of God, go we all.’ ”

A reasonable alternative would have been to ask
Liscio to come to the police division, one lawyer suggested.

“(Toronto police officer)
James Forcillo, arrested for the murder of Sammy Yatim was permitted to
quietly surrender himself into custody for a speedy release on bail while
Ms. Liscio was paraded through the courthouse in handcuffs in an apparent
attempt to demean an embarrass both her and her profession,” he wrote in an
email.

Liscio was released from custody Thursday night. She
faces multiple drug charges, including possession and trafficking, as well
as obstructing justice and breach of trust. She is scheduled to appear in
court March 12.

It's amazing how brazen the police can be in laying
charges against those they don't like on fabricated evidence that destroys
lives.

Police often have a pathological hatred of successful
criminal lawyers who in their minds protect the guilty. Read the rest of the
articles and it will stress the point our Ontario Police cannot be trusted and
why you need a lawyer like Laura Liscio to protect your rights.